In many work environments, particularly those that employ a fleet of machines that cooperate to perform a common task, productivity, efficiency, and profitability of the work environment may be dependent upon a variety of interrelated factors. For example, in mine environments that employ heavy equipment to excavate and transport materials from a mine site to a production facility, the productivity of the mine is directly dependent upon the health and productivity of each machine in the fleet. For certain types of machines, such as transport vehicles and haulers, machine productivity may also depend on work environment conditions (e.g., terrain conditions, weather conditions, etc.), as these conditions often affect speed, handling, and traction of the machines.
Early detection of structural defects in the haul road is imperative to the successful maintenance of haul road operations, as the weight of the machines and large volume of traffic associated with the haul road may cause even minor structural defects to degrade the haul road surface quite rapidly. In order to detect structural defects in the haul road, many conventional work environments implement haul road monitoring and maintenance programs. These haul road monitoring and maintenance programs involve rudimentary defect detection techniques, such as visual inspections, test-drive inspections, and as-needed emergency inspections (based, for example, on machine operator reports). In addition to being time consuming and inconvenient, these manual methods are often unreliable for detecting haul road deficiencies. For instance, visual inspection techniques may be susceptible to human error, as subsurface defects and other problems that may not be visible may go undetected. Test-drive inspections, while somewhat more reliable than visual inspections, are often not effective in simulating traffic and loading conditions that the haul route undergoes during normal operations, as these tests often prescribe shutting down the haul road during performance of the test. Emergency inspections based on machine operator reports typically only detect haul road deficiencies after they have manifested themselves, which is often too late for implementing preventative maintenance procedures. Thus, in order to effectively detect and correct haul road deficiencies in a timely manner, an automated system for identifying haul road deficiencies and determining corrective actions to resolve these deficiencies may be required.
One conventional method for efficiently identifying changes in haul road conditions without relying on time-intensive manual inspection techniques is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,817,936 (“the '936 patent”) to Schricker. The '936 patent describes a method for detecting a change in the condition of a road by sensing a plurality of parameters from one or more machines traveling along the road. The sensed parameters may be used to calculate a resistance factor for each of the one or more machines and determine an average resistance factor for the fleet of machines. If the average resistance factor exceeds a threshold level, a change (i.e., deficiency or fault) in the road segment may be identified and/or corrected.
Although some conventional methods, such as the method described in the '936 patent, may enable detection of changes in road conditions based on performance of a fleet of machines, they may be limited in certain situations. For example, while these conventional systems may be capable of detecting changes in haul road conditions, they may not be equipped to analyze prospective solutions that correct or otherwise address these changes in haul road conditions. As a result, mine operators and/or work environment managers may be required to make haul road repairs and/or modifications without a complete understanding of the impact of the repairs and/or modifications on the performance, budget, and/or long-term health of the haul route and/or one or more machines associated therewith.
Moreover, many conventional methods for detecting changes in haul road conditions, like the one described in the '936 patent, may not be integrated with performance modeling and simulation software that allows users to make modifications to certain machine or haul road parameters and test these modifications before implementation in the work environment. As a result, conventional systems may be limited to trial-and-error methods for haul road improvement, where haul road improvements are implemented and the impact of these improvements are determined in subsequent haul road operations. If required, adjustments may be made in order to incrementally improve haul route performance until a desired performance goal in achieved. Although these trial-and-error methods can be effective, they methods are often time consuming and costly, particularly if several iterations of the modification/test process are required. Thus, in order to effectively and reliably improve haul road conditions while controlling costs, a system and method for identifying problematic haul road conditions and testing one or more proposed haul road improvement options prior to implementation may be required.
The presently disclosed systems and methods for improving haul route conditions are directed toward overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.